Sick Day
by AerinM
Summary: Written for Kendra and Seth Day 2019. No spoilers for anything. Brother/sister bonding time. Oneshot. I hope you enjoy! :)


_Written for Fablehaven Ship Fest 2019: Kendra & Seth Day_

 _I hope you all enjoy my contribution for Kendra & Seth Day. :) This hasn't been betaed, it's like midnight or something and I've been running on little sleep all week, so just keep that in mind._

 _I intended in this for Kendra and Seth to be older teens. Still kids, but older. Dragonwatch probably doesn't exist here, so there aren't any spoilers for anything._

 _Also, sorry for the gratuitous Gargoyles involvement. I couldn't help myself. #aerinmisageek_

* * *

Today marked day three of their stupidly intense head cold and, quite frankly, Kendra and Seth were absolutely sick of it. Pun intended. Thankfully, "Doctor Tanu" had examined them the day beforehand and had given them some wonderfully magical cough syrup which had knocked them flat and helped them to sleep the entire night for the first time in a couple of days. Now if they could just fully breathe out of their noses and get rid of the energy-sapping sinus pressure headaches they both had, that would be great.

Cabin fever was really starting to kick in with Seth. Kendra was also starting to desire to leave the house, but she wasn't as exceedingly bored and antsy as Seth. Thank heaven they had managed to finally convince Grandpa Sorenson to set up a wireless internet router in the house a few weeks ago; otherwise, Kendra might have been in just as dire straits as her brother. She and Seth were currently snuggled up in a mound of blankets and pillows, occupying the floor of the living room at Fablehaven. They each had a box of tissues next to them, and a small trash bin sat between them.

Seth gazed disinterestedly at the television set in front of him as he switched through the channels, pausing for a few seconds on each one to figure out what was going on before moving on to the next. Eventually he gave up and turned the television off, then tossed the remote control away from him and laid down flat on his back with a huff of exasperation. Unfortunately, his nose plugged up in that position and he launched into a coughing fit. He rolled onto his side and ultimately sat back upright in order to get his breathing back under control. Clutching at his chest, he stated with great emphasis, " _I hate this_."

Kendra patted him on the back and asked, her voice clearly reflecting her congestion, "Are you ok?"

Seth punched a pillow next to him. "No! I'm tired of this! This is stupid!"

"I know," Kendra agreed, switched from patting his back to rubbing his arm in a gesture of comfort, then sneezed. She reached for her box of tissues and blew her nose, threw the used tissue into their little garbage bin, and leaned heavily against Seth's arm. "I feel like crap."

Seth scoffed and scooted backward so that he could lean against the couch while sitting up. Kendra grabbed her tablet and followed him; he wrapped an arm around her as she moved closer to him. "Wanna watch random YouTube videos?" she asked as she snuggled into his side.

Her brother gave a noncommittal shrug and mumbled something incoherent, but didn't protest as she selected the YouTube app and started looking through the various videos on the screen with only mild interest. She paused after a minute, however, when she happened to see a clip from a cartoon series she and Seth had watched when they were much younger. Looking up at her brother, she found that he wasn't paying attention so she poked him in the side. "Hey. Seth. Remember this show?"

He grumbled about being poked – seriously, he was so _grumpy_ when he was sick – but looked at the tablet she held and narrowed his eyes. " _Gargoyles?_ "

Kendra smiled. "Did we ever catch how the series ended?"

"I don't remember much about it. Besides them being stone by day and _warriors by night_ ," he said, trying to imitate the voice of the narrator (who also happened to be one of the main characters in the series). The effort sent him into another coughing fit and he shied away from Kendra while he hacked. Kendra patted his back with one hand again, and searched for full episodes of the show with her other hand.

Her eyes widened when she realized what she'd stumbled upon. "Seth, they have the entire series here. Every episode. In full!" she said, clearly starting to get excited.

"Whatever," he responded once he stopped coughing again.

"Do you want to watch it with me?"

"Whatever."

Kendra pursed her lips at his seeming indifference, then just decided to roll with it. He always got like this when he was truly sick (which, thankfully, wasn't too often), but she knew his frustration wasn't aimed at her. She selected season 1, episode 1, and snuggled back into her brother's side again.

Three hours later, they were both laying next to each other on their stomachs with the tablet between them, their heads together as they watched.

"So… is it just me, or does Goliath have a thing for Elisa?" Seth asked.

"He totally has a thing for her," Kendra responded.

"I don't remember any of this. How come I don't remember _anything_ about this show?"

"I was just thinking the same thing. This is way different than how I remembered it."

"Different in a good way, though."

"Definitely."

Kendra reached for her box of tissues again, fumbling around with her left hand, but she didn't find it in time and so directed her sneeze into her shoulder. She removed her gaze from her tablet and looked to her left in search of the tissues, however when she found it she realized it was empty. "Hey Seth, pass me the Kleenex, will you?" she asked.

Seth glanced to his right and grabbed his box, then handed it to her. She blew her nose again and threw the soiled tissue into their little trash bin, then placed the box above the tablet so that it stayed between them. Right in time for a loud "BANG" to go off in the cartoon. Kendra jerked her head back toward the screen and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Did Elisa just get shot?!" she yelled.

Her brother's face held a similar expression of shock. "I thought this was supposed to be a kid's cartoon!" Seth also yelled.

"What just happened?! Why did she get shot?!"

"I don't know! Go back a little, let's watch it again! I wasn't paying attention!"

Kendra hastily grabbed the tablet and went back a couple minutes, then hit _play_. They watched as Elisa entered her apartment, hung up her coat and gun holster (she was a cop), then picked up her cat and walked away. The scene shifted to the gargoyle Broadway, who dropped by to pay Elisa a visit. She cheerily greeted him and went about cooking in her kitchen. Then they watched as Broadway looked around Elisa's apartment and found her gun. He was caught up in a pretend game of cowboys and accidentally fired it – straight into Elisa.

Kendra and Seth looked at each other in horror.

"Elisa got _shot!_ "

" _I seriously thought this was a kid's show!_ "

"Is she gonna be okay!?"

"How could they put something like this into a _kid's_ cartoon!?"

"Goliath is gonna be _pissed!_ "

"Holycrapholycrapholycrap!"

The noise of the two siblings drew the attention of Warren, who had just wandered indoors. "What are you two going on about?" he asked, poking his head into the living room as Kendra and Seth continued with their rantings.

"We're watching _Gargoyles_ and one of the main characters is _dying!_ " Kendra shouted. "Not Elisa! She's the best!"

"Broadway flew her _lifeless body_ to the hospital! He had _blood_ on his hands! _Literally!_ "

"OH SNAP THE WEIRD BUTLER GUY JUST TOLD GOLIATH THAT ELISA IS DYING RIGHT BEFORE HE TURNED TO STONE FOR THE DAY!"

"He's horrified! Oh no! He can't save his girlfriend!"

"Holycrapholycrap _holycrap!_ "

Kendra and Seth both erupted into coughing fits, likely brought on by their hysterical ranting.

Warren's eyes widened as he looked at the siblings like they'd grown additional heads. "Ooookay then, sorry I asked," he said, retreating into the kitchen.

The Sorenson siblings watched the rest of the episode with baited breath. They watched as Broadway was shown to be crying in fear and horror for his actions. They watched as Goliath broke into Elisa's hospital room and told her unconscious form to come back to them – "He _totally_ has a thing for her," Seth interjected while Kendra nodded her head in absolute agreement – and swore vengeance upon her shooter. They watched as Goliath picked up the case Elisa had been working on: an investigation into a local mobster, whom he suspected _was_ her shooter. They watched as Broadway went on a separate mission to destroy all firearms in existence and inevitably wound up becoming part of Goliath's self-bestowed investigation. They watched as Elisa flat-lined in the hospital and was brought back to life. As Broadway convinced Goliath not to _kill_ the mobster and admitted to shooting Elisa himself. As Elisa forgave Broadway and assumed part of the blame for not being responsible with where she stored her weapon. And then the episode ended.

Kendra reached out and paused the screen, then looked at Seth. He returned her gaze.

"There was a _moral_ to this episode?!" Kendra shouted.

"They turned it into a _learning opportunity?!_ " Seth yelled, looking disgusted.

"We were put through the wringer for a _moral episode?!_ "

"Hey, kids. Don't play with guns."

"Hey, adults. Lock your guns away."

"Elisa _died_ to teach us a _lesson?!_ She's the best character in the show!"

"Well she was okay at the end of the episode. Kind of."

"Sure."

Kendra paused before she continued. "Wait, did you just say that Elisa is your favorite character?"

Seth shrugged. "Sure, I guess. She's cool."

"I thought you would've liked Goliath. Or Brooklyn."

"They're all cool. But Elisa's a badass woman cop. That makes her like a thousand times cooler."

"True. And she's mixed race, too."

"She's hot."

Kendra laughed at that comment.

"What? She _is_."

"She's also a cartoon character."

"So?"

Kendra continued to laugh and just shook her head. Seth pouted in response. "Do I need to remind you that you had a thing for _Superman_ when we were tiny?"

"He's dreamy," Kendra said, sending her voice into a higher pitch and fluttering her eyelids dramatically. The action caused both of them to laugh, which ended with them launching into yet another coughing fit.

"Ready for the next episode?" Seth asked once they'd calmed back down.

"Sure," Kendra agreed. "But let's rearrange a little first." She stood up and grabbed a few more pillows, then brought them back over to where Seth was still laying on the floor and handed him a couple of them. They ultimately switched their positions on the floor so that they were laying on their sides with Kendra's back against Seth's chest, pillows everywhere to prop them and the tablet up so they could continue to watch.

"Okay, ready now," Kendra said, snuggling closer to her brother.

"Awww, look at them, aren't they just the most adorable things you've ever seen?"

Seth and Kendra looked over toward the kitchen and found Warren again, peeking his head around the corner.

"Shut up, Warren," Seth stated with heavy exasperation in his voice.

"Mr. Grumpy is still feeling, well… grumpy, huh?" Warren asked.

"If you're not gonna come over here and watch this with us, then go away," Kendra said, making a shooing gesture with her hand.

"No offense, but you people are really germy right now and I'd prefer to stay back here."

"Then go away!" both of the siblings shouted.

"Sheesh. It appears I've struck a nerve."

"Warren. _Go_ ," Kendra insisted.

He pantomimed getting shot through his heart and replied, "Ouch, Kendra. I thought I was your favorite."

Kendra snuggled closer to her brother. "Seth's my favorite."

"Why not just throw some lemon juice on my open wound? Go ahead. It's okay." Warren raised the back of his hand to his forehead and stuck his nose in the air. "I see how it is."

"Go away! We're watching a show!" Seth demanded.

"Okay, Mr. Grumpster," Warren said, an obviously fake frown crossing his face. Seth shifted his position and grabbed a pillow, then launched it at his cousin's head. Warren barely caught it before it hit him, then said, "Jeez, you two sure know how to make a guy feel welcome." He tossed the pillow back to Seth, who put it back in its original position and pressed _play_ on the tablet, then wrapped his free arm around Kendra.

"What if _I_ want in on the snuggle pile?" Warren chimed in.

"You were invited. You said no," Kendra stated.

"I just don't want to get sick."

"Bye, Warren."

He shook his head and then turned and left the room. There was a moment of silence between the siblings while the opening monologue for the next episode ran, and then Seth spoke up. "Am I really your favorite?"

Kendra moved her head awkwardly so that she could look behind her at her brother. "Of course."

Seth smiled, then laid back down on one of the pillows. "Just checking. You're my favorite, too."

"You're insane and you do a lot of stupid things, but you're my brother and I love you."

"Well you're uptight and too good for your own good, but you're my sister and I love you, too."

Kendra sneezed. Seth laughed, then coughed.

Sick days could be pretty awful. This one, though… this one was turning out to not be quite so bad, after all.


End file.
